TWO golden girls from St Peter's School continued their sparkling season with yet more wonderful wins.

In-form scullers Rosie Gaunt and Hannah Thomas were again in the medals at the National Rowing Championships at Holme Pierrepoint in their penultimate regattas of the season.

Thomas, 17, of Oswaldkirk added another silver to her tally in the junior single sculls despite having comfortably won her eliminator and semi-final.

She was beaten in the final by Melissa Petronikolos of Molesey, who had been a leading contender for the Great Britain junior squad earlier in the year. She was later selected for Greece for the World Junior Championships but has since been dropped because of her GB try-out, and will now race against Thomas in the Home Internationals next weekend for England.

Rosie Gaunt went one better than her school-mate when winning the junior under-16 sculls in a tense match with arch-rival Laura West of Nithsdale.

Gaunt had fended off West for the Anglo-French slot last week despite West going faster at the National Schools' Regatta six weeks earlier.

West put up another strong fight in this final, leading Gaunt over the first kilometre, but Gaunt hit back and her longer stroke just kept the tenacious West at bay. Grace Edwards of Canford School was third and all three are tipped to make the Great Britain junior squad next year.

Thomas will race for Wales in the Home International meet at Nottingham this weekend, while Gaunt will join the British contingent in the Anglo-French under-16 match at Vitre, France.

Two York City Rowing Club scullers also brought home prizes from the championships.

Matt Noble and Joel Lancaster earned qualification for the final of the J16 doubles and 500m from the finish, the boys from York were level with Upper Thames in first place but they were eventually just beaten into the silver medal position by two seconds in a time of 7-23.58, beating strong crews from Monmouth and Windsor Boys.

Simon Woodfine reached the single J16 sculls semi-final with style but struggled against the strong winds because of his lighter frame and failed to make a final berth.

The senior lightweight scullers also showed good form with Dave Heffernam and Richard Smallman-Smith, also of St Peter's School, reaching the final of the open lightweight double sculls but they were unable to secure a medal.

Loretta Williams also coxed the mixed LTA - rowing with leg, trunk and arm - four at the first adaptive events to be held at the National Championships. They will be competing at the World Rowing Championships in Baynoles next week where Williams will be hoping to retain her World Championship title as a cox.

Updated: 09:19 Wednesday, July 21, 2004